Julien Leroy

Julien Leroy biography

"With a strong musicianship and a precise technique, [Julien Leroy] clearly expresses the music he wants to hear and promotes all repertoires with similar standards (...). In addition, his great human qualities ensure him an excellent relationship with musicians."

Pierre Boulez (2014)

"Julian is a complete musician. A sensitive musician with a flawless technique, insight into the score, finding the right style for scores of even the most diverse esthetics. He is a great communicant too. Friendly, engaging, inspiring."

Matthias Pintscher (2014)

Assistant conductor of the Ensemble Intercontemporain (EIC), working first for Susanna Mälkki (2012/2013), then for Matthias Pintscher (2013/2015), Julien Leroy joins in the new generation of young French conductors. His repertoire extends from 18th century to contemporary music, wether it is symphonic, lyrical or music for ensemble.

The 2013/2014 season proved to be a turning point in Julien Leroy's young career: debuts with the Orchestre National de Lorraine, the Mulhouse and Auvergne orchestras, the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris... At the same time, he kept on collaborating with the Orchestre Régional de Normandie and regularly conducted the Ensemble Intercontemporain: in Paris (Cité de la Musique) and Brussels (Palais des Beaux-Arts) for Winterreise (Schubert/Mark Andre); at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord to premiere Te craindre en ton absence (Hector Parra/Marie Ndiaye); during a Mexican tour (fall 2014)... Susanna Mälkki requested him as her assistant for a stage production of Francesconi's Quartet, which allowed him to conduct the Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra in Lisbon.Julien Leroy was awarded the 2014 « Talents Chefs d’Orchestre » ADAMI Prize (Administration des Droits des Artistes et Musiciens Interprètes) in Salle Gaveau (Paris), by performing Chostakovitch's cello concerto with Yan Levionnois & the Orchestre Colonne.
In 2015 and 2016, he conducted the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de Lille, the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, the Orchestre symphonique et lyrique de Nancy, Les Frivolités Parisiennes, the EIC and the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande.

He has been regularly invited by the Lucerne Festival (academy) since 2012, as assistant conductor of Pierre Boulez (2012, 2013), Sir Simon Rattle (2014) and Esa-Pekka Salonen (2015).

Among Julien Leroy's projects: his return to the Orchestre National de Lorraine, EIC and Orchestre National d'Ile-de-France; the premiere of Philippe Manoury's next opera, Kein Licht (libretto by Elfriede Jelinek, staging by Nicolas Stemann), at the Opéra-Comique in October 2017, then touring across Europe (Kein Licht is a coproduction by Ruhrtriennale / Berliner Festspiele / Théâtres de la Ville de Luxembourg / Zagreb National Croation Theatre / Festival Musica Strasbourg / Ircam) ; his debuts with the Orchestre de Picardie and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo.

Associate conductor of the Paris Cité internationale Orchestra (2006-2014), he has conducted, among others: the New Japan Philharmonic orchestra, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall), the Ottawa National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic, the Verbier Festival Orchestra, the Orchestre Pasdeloup, the TM+, Sillages, Court-circuit and Lucilin ensembles…
Musical director of the Paris Rive Droite Symphony Orchestra from 2003 to 2006, he founded the Orchestra Ensemble Intermezzo to explore a wide range of repertoire, as well as the Paris Percussion Group, which performs amongst others at the Paris Philharmonie.

Drawn to conducting since the age of fourteen, Julien Leroy started his training at the Sergiu Celibidache Stiftung München with Konrad von Abel and Adrian McDonnell at the Paris Conservatoire, followed by master classes directed by Valery Gergiev, Kurt Masur, Jorma Panula and Daniel Harding, whom he happened to assist (Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra). He also improved his knowledge of contemporary repertoire with Laurent Cuniot and Jean Deroyer.
A laureate of the Ottawa National Arts Centre 2009 Young Artists Conducting Program, supervised by Pinchas Zukerman and Kenneth Kiesler, he was selected for the Festival Verbier Academy with Kurt Masur. He was also awarded during the 15th Tokyo International Music Competition for Conducting.

Julien Leroy was also unanimously rewarded in 2003 with the Academy of Paris First Prize for violin and chamber music. After studying musical harmony, analysis and composition, he obtained the Musical Studies Degree of the Paris Conservatoire (2005).
Eager to share with young musicians his passion for music, he was naturally brought to conduct the Orchestras of the Paris Conservatoire. He has also been responsible for the artistic direction of several ensembles within Alfred Loewenguth Youth Orchestras since 2003.
In 2010, Julien Leroy was appointed professor of conducting at the Metz Conservatoire.